April 14, 2025
Who Will Roll the Stone Away?
As you take Communion, thank God that when the stone was moved, the tomb was empty.
Articles for tag: Mary Magdalene
February 19, 2024
Feb. 25 Lesson | Seeing and Believing
People in Jesus’ day saw the miracles, heard him teach, and watched him interact with people high and low. Still, many of them refused to believe. But for the Jesus followers of John 20, seeing was believing. . . .
April 3, 2023
April 9 | All Nations Are Invited
On this Easter Sunday, the church needs to remember that it has the best of the good news to share. The church dares not be stingy with it. . . .
April 3, 2023
April 9 | Discovery
Questions for group discussion for use with this week’s lesson titled “All Nations Are Invited” (Mark 16:9-20).
November 11, 2022
Let’s Talk About . . . ‘The Chosen’ (Seasons 1–2)
The multi-season streaming series "The Chosen" takes enormous artistic liberties with the historical facts of the Gospels. However, it convincingly portrays Jesus as enigmatically both human and divine.
August 23, 2021
Aug. 29 | Application
Mary’s whiplashed emotions made it difficult for her mind to grasp history’s greatest miracle. In your own life, have there been times when the Lord was right there with you, but you didn’t recognize his presence?
April 6, 2020
The Science of Memory
By Jon Wren As modern science learns more and more about the human brain, some of the biggest findings have centered on memory. New research is helping us understand not only how we remember things, but also why we remember some things more than others. Interestingly, new findings show that nothing creates a stronger memory than experience and repetition. For example, when we meet someone and learn their name, that information goes to a specific part of the brain called the hippocampus. That’s where the brain stores facts and figures. But the circumstances about where, why, and how we met
March 15, 2020
Mary Magdalene: Go and Tell
(An eyewitness’ account*) By Ely Lozada Mary Magdalene had been watching for hours. Now, the jeering crowd was gone and only the women mourning Jesus remained at the cross together. An unfamiliar man approached them; he too had sorrow etched on his face. “I have permission to take away Jesus’ body, so that it may be laid to rest away from this terrible place.” She noticed he paid no mind to the sweat and blood around them, this man whose fine clothing surely would be soiled by this gruesome task. He spoke tenderly to Jesus’ mother as he told them
March 15, 2020
The Angels: Messengers of Hope at the Empty Tomb
By John Caldwell I have a confession to make. In well over half a century of ministry, I’ve never preached about the angels as they relate to the resurrection of Christ. I have manuscripts of all my Easter sermons, but I’ve searched in vain through scores of them for any significant focus on the angels. I fear that many of us have seen angels only as “bit players” in the Easter story. In reality, however, the angels play a major role. Angels in the Bible Angels have many roles in Scripture, and they would make for an interesting study; after
March 15, 2020
Simon Peter: A Betrayer Is Restored
(An eyewitness’ account*) By Dale Reeves We were just minding our own business, washing and mending our nets on the lakeshore, when we first met Jesus face-to-face. He stepped into my boat to use it as a sort of floating speaker’s platform. After he talked to the people about what he called “the kingdom of Heaven,” he told us to move the boat into deeper water and then cast our nets off the right side. Andrew and I looked at each other and laughed; we had been out there all night without sleep and without fish. I’m not sure
March 15, 2020
Thomas: Testimony . . . and Why Seeing Doesn’t Contradict Believing
By John Whittaker It was evening of the Sunday Jesus rose from the dead, and the frightened disciples were holed up behind locked doors. Emotions, excitement, and tensions soared. Suddenly, though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them. “Shalom,” he greeted them. And then he showed them his hands and his side, scars and all, evidence that it was indeed him. After that encounter, the euphoric disciples couldn’t wait to tell Thomas, who wasn’t with them that night. But upon hearing the news, Thomas was hesitant, uncertain. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to believe. He just needed more
April 15, 2019
Lesson for April 21, 2019: Follow the Risen One (Mark 16:1-11)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 13-16; March 31–April 21, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Believe the startling reality of Christ’s resurrection. ______ Clark Pinnock said, “The biggest objection to Christianity is that it seems too good to be true.” But it is true. Christ has been raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20). That fact alone compels us to follow the Risen One.
April 2, 2018
Lesson for April 8, 2018: The Risen Lord Appears (John 21:1-14)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 13–16; April 1–22, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Jesus not only had risen from the dead; he had also appeared alive many times to validate his resurrection. Dr. Lynn Gardner lists at least 10 resurrection appearances by Jesus in the New Testament (Christianity Stands True). These appearances were to individuals and groups, to men and women, to leaders and
March 18, 2018
A Secret We Must Tell
(The essay originally appeared online April 12, 2009.) ________ By Arron Chambers Can you keep a secret? Stephen and Louise couldn’t. “Our son became an astronaut today.” On September 17, 1962—in one of the most interesting segments of game show history—Stephen and Louise Armstrong appeared on I’ve Got a Secret with the secret that their son Neil had just been selected to be an astronaut. Neil was one of nine new men so chosen. What made this appearance especially unique was that host Garry Moore asked Louise an incredible question: “Now, how would you feel, Mrs. Armstrong, if it turned
March 15, 2018
Go and Tell
By Michael C. Mack I have learned some of the most vital lessons from some of the most unlikely people in Scripture. Mary Magdalene is one of them. A most pivotal day in her life started “while it was still dark” (John 20:1). As she went to the tomb, her life epitomized what our lives would look like without knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection—dark and hopeless. But the resurrection changes everything. A day that began in darkness ended with her radiant proclamation, “I have seen the Lord!” (v. 18). Mary was the first to view the empty
March 27, 2016
Facing the Future
By Joe Boyd What did the resurrection mean to the readers of the oldest Gospel? And how does that help us in our own confusing lives and complicated age? Most followers of Jesus are aware that there are four Gospels in the Christian Scriptures: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All four of these accounts tell the story of Jesus, but, at times, from different perspectives. Most New Testament scholars agree that Mark”s Gospel is likely the oldest, dating a few decades after the life and death of Jesus. Looking at Mark”s story of the resurrection, one realizes it is brief
March 26, 2016
Merciful and Mighty
By Jackina Stark When I was a young girl, I would swing high into the blue sky on summer afternoons, singing over and over the first verse of “Holy, Holy, Holy.” I sang of a truth that I barely understood but a truth that became the foundation of my life: the holy God is both “merciful and mighty.” I learned that song at the church where my parents sent us children on Sunday mornings. It wasn”t too many years before this merciful and mighty God saved my parents from a second divorce for each of them and a variety of
March 21, 2016
Lesson for March 27, 2016: Resurrection Faith (Mark 16:1-8)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the March 20 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Our celebrations of Easter can be pretty bland. Easter eggs, chocolate, and lilies are not very threatening. But the first Easter was scary. If Jesus was alive, then life could not continue as usual. The resurrection is a historical fact. Faith in the resurrected Jesus begins
April 24, 2015
Believing Is Seeing
By Robert F. Hull Jr. “Seeing is believing,” we say, but in the logic of the Gospel of John, it works the other way around: Believing is seeing. It is true Peter and John did not believe Jesus had risen from the dead until they entered the tomb and saw the abandoned grave clothes (John 20:6-8). It is also true Mary Magdalene and 10 of the disciples were permitted to see the risen Lord. But was this a privilege all disciples should have? Thomas seemed to think so. He wanted the same experience the other disciples had, or an even greater
April 5, 2015
How Much Do You Know About Easter?
By Victor Knowles Faith in the resurrection of Christ has been called the keystone of the arch of Christianity. How much do you know about the resurrection of Jesus? 1. Who prophesied the following in regard to the resurrection of Christ? “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; . . . because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” a. Moses b. David c. Isaiah d. Daniel 2. Jesus predicted he would be raised on: a. The first day of the week
